▬"Let's get out of here," Minho said, his chest heaving with ragged breaths.

I looked up at his sweaty figure, his shirt clinging on to his body for dear life, and to the cloudy sky above him. Though it was still dark, the first traces of dawn crept into the sky, its rays forcing itself through the dense clouds. I still couldn't believe that I'd somehow survived my first night in the Maze with nothing but my two friends for company, one of whom I had only known for a few days.

"You know where to go from here?" I asked.

Minho snorted. "Well, duh, you prickly flower. Come on, I can't stand staying in this shuck Maze any longer than I have to."

Ignoring the stupid nickname, I got to my feet shakily and followed Minho and Thomas. We jogged down corridor after corridor, no one uttering a word. Though the boys hid it well, I could tell they were still in shock like I was. The Maze around us continued shifting and changing as if nothing traumatizing of the sorts had happened. 

I estimated around an hour had ticked by when the floor underneath me shook. The wall next to me slid along the ground, shaking the earth. I stumbled and fell and before I could get back up, the wall cut off my friends from view.

"Minho!" I yelled out, leaping to my feet. "Thomas!"

I pounded against the wall. No answer. Either they couldn't hear me or hadn't yet realize that I was separated from them. 

Fear started to kick in. The back of my neck got hot all of a sudden and I was very aware of the anxious, panicky feeling in my heart that seemed to weigh me down. I wasn't a Runner - I didn't know how to find my way out. What the hell was I supposed to do now? 

Trying to keep my panic at bay, I walked back the way I came from and took a few turns. After a few moments, I realized I was lost.

"Shit, shit, shit," I muttered angrily. How on earth did I get stuck in this situation?

I considered staying in the same spot until someone found me - but I knew it was a stupid idea. Even now, I could still hear the faint moans and whirring of the Grievers somewhere deep in the Maze. If my friends couldn't find me, the Grievers will.

I glanced up at the walls. A thick mass of ivy hugged it, its leaves ruffling in the slight breeze. I remembered how Newt had climbed them once, how easy his muscular arms made it look. If I climbed high enough, I might be able to see where my friends were.

I wasn't the strongest and my stamina was already running as thin as paper, but I grabbed hold of one of the vines and pulled myself up. My arms were screaming and there was an insistent throbbing in the back of my head - but I ignored them and continued heaving myself up. At one point my hand slipped, so that I was hanging from a vine with one hand, legs dangling in the air. I yelped and quickly grabbed hold of the ivy with both hands again, my heart beating madly. Several agonising minutes later, I leaned my whole body against the blanket of ivy, panting heavily. Beads of perspiration clung to every inch of my skin.

I glanced down below me. I was about ten metres off the ground now. Blood roared in my ears - I was very high up. Way higher than I liked.

In an attempt to calm down my rapid heartbeat, I quickly scanned the area, trying to catch a glimpse of my friends. Had they run off without me?

Then I heard it: a faint voice calling my name in the distance.

"Rose! Rosalind! Where are you?"

"HERE!" I yelled as loudly as I could. "I'm over here!"

The vine I was holding onto snapped.

With a strangled cry, my hands tried to grasp at any bit of ivy to stop my fall, but no such luck. I twisted my body mid-air and landed on my side. Pain roared in my left shoulder and arm, and it felt as if my joints were being poked with a hot iron rod. I bit my lips to keep from crying out; tears brimmed in my eyes from the pain and black spots danced in my vision. I must have broken my shoulder. I must have, or I wouldn't be suffering through pain this immense.

I heard footsteps from somewhere nearby and a moment later, Minho and Thomas came into view, concern written over their faces through my blurry vision.

"What the shuck happened?" Minho asked.

"I think I broke my shoulder," I groaned.

Minho and Thomas helped me to my feet. My entire left arm felt like it was on fire and I think I may have blacked out at one point, though I had no recollection of doing so.

"Come on, we're close to the doors now," Minho urged. "The faster we get out of this place the better."

"We need to get Alby as well," Thomas reminded him.

"Right, right."

Thomas stayed close to my side as we sped-walked, occasionally throwing me worried glances. He guided us to where we left Alby and he and Minho pulled the guy down from the wall. Despite their obvious exhaustion, the two supported Alby's weight and carried him. I stumbled behind them, clutching my injured arm and tried not to pass out from pain and exhaustion. I heard a familiar grinding sound of stone against stone, the earth shaking beneath me. We must be very close to the doors now. 

As if he had read my mind, Minho said, "Almost there! Just one or two more corridors..."

Ten minutes of struggling and staggering later, we rounded a corner and spotted the doors ahead of us. It had opened fully now and there was a crowd of Gladers around it. I spotted Chuck at the front of the crowd, his chubby face scrunched up in a mixture of relief, disbelief and excitement at the same time as he caught sight of us.

"Yes!" He exclaimed. The other Gladers took up the chant and soon enough, the air was filled with cheers of "Yeah!"s and "Yes!"s.

Minho and Thomas set Alby down on the ground once we stepped out of the Maze. We collasped instantly, relief and exhaustion taking over. 

Clint and Jeff came running over immediately, clutching their med-kits. Clint crouched next to Alby's body and examined him for injuries while Jeff came to my side and checked my shoulder, where the pain had gone from bad to worse.

"Did you see a Griever?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah, I saw one," Thomas said wearily.

"He didn't just see one, the shuck-face," Minho smiled smugly. "He killed it."

All eyes turned to Thomas. Several people looked at him in awe, maybe fascination, while the others, like Gally, shot him furtive glances of suspicion. I couldn't blame them. In the two whole years we had been in the Glade, no one had ever survived a night out in the Maze before, much less killed a Griever, and Thomas had done both as a Greenie.

My gaze shifted to the edge of the crowd, where a tall boy with shaggy blond hair was staring at me. My heart leaped at the sight of Newt, until I noticed the expression on his face. He looked angrier than I had ever seen him, his eyes burning and jaw clenched. His hands were curled into tight fists at his sides and the muscles in his arms were tense.

"You bloody idiot!" He shouted, glaring directly at me.

I blinked, not sure what he was on about. Even the other Gladers looked up in confusion as they wondered what was going on. Before I knew it, Newt had marched up to me. He stopped right in front of me, looking absolutely furious.

"What-" I started to say, but Newt cut me off.

"Why the bloody hell did you run in there?!" He yelled at me, gesturing towards the Maze. "You knew full well how worried I was 'bout Minho and Alby and you go and run off in there and shut yourself off from the buggin' doors!"

The other Gladers stared at us. I felt my face heat up - whether from embarrassment or anger I couldn't tell.

"Our friends were hurt!" I shot back, surprised at how annoyed I sounded. "I couldn't just stand there and watch them die without doing anything to help them!"

"Newt, maybe you should-" Jeff said from beside me.

"You think you're doing everyone else here a favour, eh?" Newt said angrily, completely ignoring Jeff. "Figured we'd all be right and happy with you dead or stung, right? Did you even think about me when you ran off? I cried myself to sleep mourning you! Huh? Did you even care to think about me?"

"Newt-"

But he was on a roll now.

"I cried myself to sleep, damnit! I couldn't bear the thought of you or anyone one else dead for God's sake! And you just go runnin' like this is all fun and games - what the bloody hell, honestly! Remember my limp, yeah? Remember it? I was terrified that it would happen to you as well - you know I'm scared of the stupid, buggin' Maze! And you have the nerve to just run in there like-like-"

Newt clutched at his head, his face now red from the effort of shouting so much. With a growl of frustration, he whirled around and marched off, leaving behind a stunned silence.

[ END OF CHAPTER TWENTY ]

let the drama begin MWAHAHAHAA

i am so excited for the next few chapters cause they're filled with so much angst ahhahaa

why am i like this